1. Field of Invention
An off road sports board provides a rider with the experience of snowboarding while standing on the sports board and shifting his weight from side to side to steer the sports board on dirt, gravel or other particulate materials when or where snow is not present, the sports board having an overall elongated oval configured deck with an upward angled rear section and inward tapered central wheel cutouts, the sports board further defining an upper surface including a front and rear friction enhanced area upon which the rider's feet are positioned and secured by removable strappings, a front cutout section defining a front wheel opening and a lower surface to which are attached a pair axially aligned of front axle supports containing a front axle having a central portion upon which an inner bearing of a front wheel is placed, orienting the front wheel within the front cutout section, a pair of axially aligned middle axle supports containing a middle axle having two ends, each end attached to an inner bearing of a middle wheel, and an adjustable depth brake apparatus on the lower surface on the upward angled rear section, the rear friction enhances area located behind the middle axle allowing the rider to shift his weight, tilting upward angled rear section downward forcing the adjustable depth braking apparatus into the travel surface upon which the sports board is used, stopping or slowing the travel of the sports board.
2. Description of Prior Art
A preliminary review of prior art patents was conducted by the applicant which reveal prior art patents in a similar field or having similar use. However, the prior art inventions do not disclose the same or similar elements as the present sports board, nor do they present the material components in a manner contemplated or anticipated in the prior art.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,096 to Cook, a portion of the wheels on the underside of a skateboard are presented in an in-line configuration, with Cook having two sets of three wheels with a steerable means on the truck. A snowboard is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. D524,400 to Langford, disclosing a plurality of lower fins which allow for steering of the board by the angle of the upper deck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,291 to Ramage, discloses a skateboard having oversized wheels for use on off-road terrains. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,225 to Osawa, a skateboard having plurality of reduced diameter rollers on the underside for use of the skateboard on grass is disclosed, the upper deck being flexible to conform to the varying terrain to allow all the wheels to remain in contact with the grass turf. In another U.S. Patent No. D529,565 to Warner, a skateboard with an arch shaped platform includes three sets of tandem wheels, one set on each end with a set in the middle.
A snowboard balance simulator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,691 to Moscarello which has a single central roller base having a football shaped contour, but has no direct attachment to the upper board member. It is not intended for travel. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,776 to Todd, a skateboard with a snowboard response has contoured wheels, with two large diameter front and rear wheels affixed to the bottom of the board and two smaller diameter wheel located in front and behind the respective larger diameter wheels, demonstrating a tilting application indicated in FIG. 5, but requiring release of all pressure from the elevated end to accomplish the tilting movement.
Wheelless snowboard are shown in U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2004/0032113 to Rancon and Design Pat. No. D498,810, showing a similar board configuration which could be significantly modified for use as a component in the current sports board. A three wheeled board is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,540 to Smith, but it does not have two axial middle wheels and requires the rider to balance on two of the wheels without lateral stabilization. It also has no brake apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,787 to Jordan (same inventor) includes three longitudinally aligned wheels with a front wheel, a rear wheel and a larger central wheel which is adjustable front to back. In U.S. Patent Pub. No 2003/0107199 to DeSchinkel, another longitudinally aligned set of three wheels is shown with foot clamps on the upper surface of the deck.
None of the disclosed indicates a sports board with a braking apparatus, a front wheel which is located in the front portion with the front wheel through the upper and lower deck and a middle axle with two axially aligned wheels on the sides of the board, providing a stabile sport board that can be stood upon without requiring a lateral balancing, the three wheels on the present sports board forming a triangular configuration and orientation, steerable by movement of weight by the rider from side to side with rear braking accomplished by a shift of weight to the back foot tilting the rear of the board, forcing the adjustable depth braking apparatus into the travel surface to slow or stop movement of the sports board upon the surface or to accentuate a turn.